Arizona Cardinals' Timeline

1898: Morgan Athletic Club (Chicago)

1899-1900: Racine (Chicago) Normals

1901-1921: Racine (Chicago) Cardinals

1922-1959: Chicago Cardinals

1960-1987: St. Louis Cardinals

1988-1993: Phoenix Cardinals

1994-Present: Arizona Cardinals

Bill Bidwill, one of the NFL's most established owners, became the president of the Arizona Cardinals the old-fashioned way: he
inherited it. Bidwill has been affiliated with the team since the 1940s, and is finally getting things headed in the right direction.

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Despite being the oldest surviving professional football franchise, the Cardinals have not experienced much success over their
many years. Some of the few high points are listed below:

1925: NFL Champions

1947: NFL Champions & Western Division Champions

1948: Western Division Champions

1974: NFC Eastern Division Champions

1975: NFC Eastern Division Champions

2008: NFC Champions & NFC Western Division Champions

2009: NFC Western Division Champions

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Is the Cardinals' history really as bad as people say? Read the following *FACTS*
and decide for yourself! Did you know that...

the Cardinals have a perfect winning percentage (1.000) in home playoff games (Houston is only other team)?

the Cardinals have lost only eight post-season games in 95 years?

the Cardinals have more all-time victories than the Dallas Cowboys?

the Cardinals have the 2nd-best winning percentage of the surviving NFL charter members?

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"Jerry Maguire" and the Arizona Cardinals -- by Tom Burke

- - - - - It's not often that we Arizona Cardinals fans get to see our team featured in a major motion picture, but the movie "Jerry Maguire," released at the end of 1996, does just that. Tom Cruise plays the disaffected sports agent Jerry Maguire who is dismissed from the company he helped to build after he proposes some sincere but controversial
changes in philosophy. His last remaining client is an unrecognized wide receiver who is in the last year of his contract with the Arizona Cardinals, played by Cuba Gooding, Jr, who coins the now popular expression "show me the money!"
- - - - - Basically, Jerry's personal and professional life hit the rocks but he finds redemption in both areas at the end of the movie. A climactic game set in Sun Devil Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys helps determine if the Cardinals will make the playoffs after a late season string of victories. There are lots of scenes set in the Cardinals locker room,
practice field, and general offices as well. The actor who plays the fictional Cardinals owner in "Jerry Maguire" actually looks a lot like former head coach Joe Bugel. The movie is a must to see for all Arizona Cardinals fans.
- - - - - Cuba Gooding, Jr., received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, while the movie also picked up four other nominations, including nominations for Best Actor and Best Movie. The movie production company donated money to the Cardinals Charities in exchange for the official support of the Arizona Cardinals football team. "Jerry Maguire" is now
available on home videotape.

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Why the Cardinals, Not the Cowboys, Should Be "America's Team"

The Cardinals have played regular season home games in seven major metropolitan areas: Phoenix
(Glendale/Tempe), St. Louis, Chicago, Pittsburgh ('44), Buffalo ('58), Minneapolis ('59), and Mexico City ('05). Dallas?
In only one.

The word "America" represents not only the United States but also the entire continents of North
and South America. The Cardinals, not the Cowboys, have hosted a regular season game in "America" outside the U.S., when
they played the 49ers on October 2, 2005 in Mexico City.

The population of the state of Arizona is 3,832,294 ('92).
Dallas only has 1,007,618 ('92) citizens. Therefore, the Cardinals' name represents
a larger section of the American population.

The name "Cowboys" is gender specific, representing only the male population. Although
the bird on the Cardinals' helmets is male, cardinals come in both genders, again representing
a larger portion of the American people.

The Cardinals, first organized in 1898, have witnessed a larger piece of American
history. Emerging just after the Spanish-American War, the Cardinals have endured through
two World Wars, the deaths of three U.S. Presidents, and one Great Depression more than have
the Cowboys, who entered the NFL scene in 1960.

It is not by mere coincidence that the words "Arizona Cardinals" contain six of the eight
letters found in "American," with the remaining two appearing in "Tempe." The words "Dallas
Cowboys" contain only three.

The cardinal is the state bird of seven states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina,
Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. The cowboy is the state animal of zero.